The South Shore Pride Committee's (SSPC) mission
...is to promote acceptance and respect for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families and friends living in suburban towns south of Boston and in all of Massachusetts.
We invite you and everyone who supports our stated mission to join the South Shore Pride Committee. Volunteer committee members and friends are gay and straight and represent many South Shore towns, including:
Braintree, Brockton, Cohasset, Canton, Duxbury, Fall River/New Bedford, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Middleboro, Norwell, Plymouth, Quincy, Randolph, Rockland, Sharon, Scituate and Weymouth.
Our initiatives seek to foster public awareness and positive visibility, promote existing gay-friendly groups, end feelings of isolation and support the movement to secure basic civil rights for all families in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Projects and initiatives to-date include:
- 3 South Shore Pride and Family Festivals in Braintree, MA.
- 2 South Shore Pride Parades and Festivals in Plymouth, MA.
- An on-line Resource Guide to Gay-Friendly groups and organizations on the South Shore.
- A public awareness project focused on at-risk youth, spear-heading:
- A tour of the The Shared Heart Exhibit to 3 south shore high schools: Cohasset, Hingham and Scituate; First Parish Church, Canton and All Souls' Church, Braintree and the South Shore Pride Festival.
- Public focus groups and videos addressing "At Risk Youth and Resources Available for our Schools and Communities" through the DOE Schools Program
- Front page Patriot Ledger and Boston Globe South Weekly articles featured SSPC's "At Risk GLBT Youth" topic and related public awareness programs on the South Shore.
- South Shore Gay/Lesbian Parenting/Play Group
- Our expanding website: www.southshorepride-MA.org
How South Shore Pride began:
The first South Shore Pride Picnic was held on June 11, 2000. It was produced by members of the Welcoming Congregation Committee of Souls Church Braintree, MA and funded, in large part, by a grant from the Unitarian Universalist Association. In attendance were approximately 250 people.
Founding festival organizers formed a regional free-standing committee inviting members and friends from all south shore communities. All festivals since the first have been organized by The South Shore Pride Committee with members and friends representing many shore towns. Funding in large part came from our lead sponsor and friends at Planet Subaru of Hanover with additional, valued contributions from members, friends, businesses, south shore GLBT-based groups and Diversity Committees.
We invite you and everyone who supports our stated mission to join the South Shore Pride Committee.
